"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day." 2 Corinthians 4:16

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Inspired by a Scrooge

My husband and I love to support local entertainment so we bought tickets a few weeks ago to see a community play across town this past Saturday night. The weather outside was truly frightful with heavy rain and winds, but we decided we would venture out anyway.

We arrived at this lovely facility which was very festive. A company was having a Christmas party in one of the ballrooms so the smell of food combined with the sound of a DJ playing music added to the spirit of the season.

The holiday classic tale “A Christmas Carol” is one of our favorites. This production was really enjoyable as the actors put a different spin on the presentation with a witty narrator and delightful humor interwoven.

At the end of the production everyone was on their feet clapping. The encore was the audience singing (with the encouragement of the cast members) a rousing chorus of “Joy to the World!”

Dickens included so many lessons in this timeless story and the more I thought about it the more I realized what a master of allegory Dickens was. First, there’s the surface of the story. You know, the characters and plot and all that obvious stuff. Then there’s the symbolic level, or the deeper meaning that all the jazz on the surface represents.

Scrooge feels sorrow and remorse when the spirit showed him how poorly he treated others. For the first time in his life he saw himself for who he really was ~ a humbling moment in anyone’s life.

Scrooge’s bitterness had roots in his early life but he allowed it to devour him. I once read an analogy and it went something like ~ Bitterness is like swallowing a poisonous pill and expecting someone else to die when in reality the victim is ourselves.

Initially Scrooge wants nothing to do with the three spirits. But eventually he does begin to listen to them and through his listening he begins to learn and move forward. We also have the potential to grow and change in ways that not only enrich us, but those around us as well ~ just like Scrooge ~ if we take the time to listen and learn.

The spirit showed Scrooge that he wasted his life obtaining power and money and this will one day come to an end. It is important for us to bear in mind that our lives will also end one day and we still have time to change. Living with the end in mind might help us as it did Scrooge.

There is joy in change. Scrooge realized he had a second chance at life. For the first time in a long time, through his jubilation, he began to connect to the real world again. He asked forgiveness from the solicitors he refused to give money to the day before and made restitution. He spread unexpected joy and generosity to others. It is interesting to note that when Scrooge awoke that Christmas morning literally nothing had changed in his circumstance. The only thing that DID change was his heart.

We may think it is too late to change, but in reality the best time is now ~ a lesson Ebenezer Scrooge teaches us well every Christmas.

What a great experience to see this story in live theater! Every year we watch the George C. Scott version as early in the season as we can manage, and it really does set a great tone for the celebration!

“…a lesson Ebenezer Scrooge teaches us well every Christmas.”
And one he no doubt taught/reminded Dickens of during the writing of the story!

You’re certainly spot-on about Dickens and his literary approach to making social statements in his novels back in the day.
Just recently saw the film, “The Man Who Invented Christmas” (Amazon Prime and other places?) which you might find interesting, too.
It’s a fictionalized portrayal of the angst and process of Dickens’ creation of ‘A Christmas Carol’ showing possible real life scenarios that might have played into its creation…for myself it put back into perspective the fact that ours in not the only generation/society to struggle with the Christmas season.
Check it out, you might like it.

What great lessons and how much of thought you put into this post !
It is a humbling experience to go through the Christmas Carol story and Dickens is a true story teller. I do love a story with a moral or many morals. The Scrooge is in every one of us- it is easy to say- Trump needs to change or X needs to do it this way or Y needs to stand on his head to be good but the real lesson is in looking within and seeing where we need to change.
That is the spirit of Christianity and there is room for everyone in it. Merry Christmas !
The pictures are gorgeous- what camera did you use ?
Hope you all got to eat a good dinner from the food that sent wafts of deliciousness your way during the program.
Susie

It is never too late to change is it? The story of Scrooge is timeless and does have many lessons. I don’t think I’ve ever really examined the messages throughout the story so thank you for writing about it. A lovely photo of you both and I hope you have a magical Christmas.

It’s a timeless story full of meaning that is still valid for us today. We took our older daughter to see the Muppets version as a Christmas treat, when it had just been released. She was 6 and despite all the laughs the movie had given us she still picked up on the importance of the underlying message. It’s good to know that it is still being renewed in productions today. Now, where’s my dvd?

It’s lovely that you could enjoy a wonderful production and then take away some lessons from it too. I think life is a constant process of hearing or seeing things that trigger us to think a little more deeply and if we then apply it, we keep growing and that much-sought-after wisdom starts to make itself felt.
MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 🙂

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen ‘A Christmas Carol’. The best was the one with my grandchildren in it. Every time it deeply moves me ~ sometimes because I recognize a bit of Scrooge in my ‘Bah, humbug!’ and sometimes because I relate to the Cratchit family. I’ll be sharing on FB and Twitter for #MLSTL.

I’m a little late to the party, my friend, but since the message is timeless I can still say that your comments gave me pause. This is one of my favorite stories for the very reasons you so beautifully expressed. I hope your Christmas was wonder-filled, and I wish a very Happy New Year to you and all of yours!